2 October 2021: Opinion - Cuomo's Outrageous War on His Accusers

Cuomo’s outrageous war on his accusers

This opinion piece was authored by left-wing activists Heidi Sieck and Camille Rivera. In it, they focus on Andrew M. Cuomo's alleged serial sexual harassment and his recent media campaign without referencing any of his other scandals.

New Yorkers need to focus on recovering from the pandemic and keeping our families safe and healthy. We need to focus on fixing what’s broken here in our state, not continue giving a soapbox to the person who caused so much damage in the first place.

Before former Gov. Cuomo resigned, he worked to discredit his survivors, and when that didn’t work, he tried to undermine the press. Less than a month after resigning in disgrace, Cuomo, has come out of hiding to rear his ugly political heart and attack the most powerful woman of color in New York State politics, Attorney General Letitia James.

In a series of emails to his “Team Cuomo” political list, Cuomo blamed James and “cancel culture” for ending his political career. As Attorney General Tish James said at this week’s Association for a Better New York event: “Mr. Cuomo has a lot to say on these matters, but he has never taken responsibility for his own conduct.” By taking no responsibility and attempting to gaslight us, Cuomo has succeeded in reinforcing exactly why we all wanted him removed from power....

James’ report did not end Cuomo’s career. Cuomo’s behavior ended his career. He harassed and groped multiple women who worked for him. This is predatory and disturbing, and it is illegal. There need to be consequences for harassment and groping, and if the former governor had any integrity at all, he would take responsibility for that behavior. The attorney general did her job. The esteemed lawyers she deputized thoroughly investigated the allegations, bringing toxic, predatory illegal behavior to light. They uncovered a system of abuse by Cuomo and the coverup by his inner circle that made Albany a toxic place to work for everyone, especially for women.

This is not complicated. Cuomo broke the law, over and over. He is a serial harasser who got caught. The blame for his downfall is his alone. This is the behavior of a man who never expected consequences, who never thought that mistreating women would impact his political ambitions, and who never wanted to be out of the limelight. The bullying, the gaslighting and the unprofessional attacks are a sad attempt to maintain a future in public office — and he continues to victimize women as part of that process.

Sieck and Rivera also describe Team Cuomo's latest media campaign as "propaganda of the highest order".